Cory Morse / The Grand Rapids PressCynthia Hatfield, left, and her mother, Virginia Sherwood, are reflected in a window as they look at Evely Sagbay's portion of the ArtPrize entry, "Goodwill Avant Garde" at Goodwill on S. Division Ave. in the Heartside neighborhood.

Update: correction made re: the location of "Open Water No. 24."

GRAND RAPIDS — Think Lewis and Clark. But for art.

Exploration is one of the main points of emphasis from ArtPrize organizers this year. With so many venues and artists — 164 venues hosting 1,582 artists — it’s no surprise that work on display in centralized or more concentrated locations will get the most eyeballs.

Note that previous ArtPrize top winners, Ran Ortner’s “Open Water No. 24” and Chris LaPorte’s “Cavalry, American Officers, 1921,” were located in the heavily trafficked Old Federal Building and Grand Rapids Art Museum, respectively, in the event-designated Center City neighborhood. Also note how works located on the edges of the Monroe North/Belknap, Westside, Hillside and Heartside neighborhoods sometimes don’t get the benefit of many viewers.

But now, there’s added incentive to walk a little farther or roam a little deeper into a venue. ArtPrize is initiating GO Times for each of the five primary neighborhoods, one a day, starting Friday. People are encouraged to pick up a free map at a specific starting point and take part in a scavenger hunt of sorts during a specific time period.

Participants will use their maps like a passport to acquire stickers from locations within a neighborhood. The first 100 people to check in two hours later with five stickers will get free ArtPrize merchandise.

Brian Burch, ArtPrize’s public relations director, referred to the GO Times, programmed and coordinated by ArtPrize street teams volunteers, as “cool hunting,” and said they fit nicely into the event’s overall philosophy.

“It goes back to our original design, that the whole thing should be a game,” he said. “You’re voting and running around the city. We want people to be engaged — engaged with art — and to be educated as a result.”

A more fundamental change for ArtPrize 2011 is the way votes are tracked. Previously, you could monitor the overall top vote-getters in (close to) real time at ArtPrize.org. Now, the top 25 in each individual neighborhood — and the top five at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, which only hosts a total of 25 works — will be listed on the website during the first round of voting.

”We really want people to go and see new things,” Burch said.

As in previous years, ArtPrize has designated specific Neighborhood Days for each of the five boroughs. But it’s up to the neighborhood associations, venues and artists to independently organize events to celebrate, and attract attention to, the works on display.

Also, ArtPrize contracted confectioner MaryAnn’s Chocolates to create unique chocolate bars to represent the five neighborhoods and Meijer Gardens, each tailored to the “flavor” of the area. The candy is available at several points on the ArtPrize grid, including The Hub.

Add up all these points of emphasis, and the message is clear: encouraging art watchers to look at underappreciated work located off the beaten path.

”It’s all about getting people to experience going out and exploring these neighborhoods,” Burch said.